Curriculum

Strong literacy skills, knowledge and understanding are the building blocks for success. We understand how understand how important reading and Writing is to support all learning and we use evidence-based practices to help our students to thrive in English.

​Our Instructional Playbook focuses on Daily Review, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension, Vocabulary and Morphology.

We regularly use strategies and techniques aligned to Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach like a Champion” – including ‘Work the Clock’, “Change the Pace’, ‘Exit Ticket’ and ‘Wait Time’.

We take into account the simple view of reading in that, learning to read requires two abilities – correctly identifying words (decoding) and understanding their meaning (comprehension). Acquiring these two broad abilities, requires the development of more specific skills. Effective reading instruction includes six essential skills for reading and a high quality literacy program should include all six components.

Phonemic Awareness: The ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words

Phonics: The ability to decode words using knowledge of letter-sound relationships- decoding strategies include syllabification, segmenting and blending sounds together to read words.

Fluency: Reading with appropriate pace and accuracy ensures words/texts are understood, usually requiring words read in a minute. The better the fluency, the greater the comprehension.

Comprehension: Understanding the meaning and intent of the word/ text- With appropriate pace comes greater comprehension and understanding of information.

Vocabulary: Knowing the meaning of a wide variety of words and the structure of written language- word origins (etymology)

Morphology: The smallest unit or meaning of a word.-Prefixes, root/base words, suffixes and rules that govern them.

Our structured reading approach includes:

• Daily review of previously taught content – Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Morphology
• Explicitly taught phonics/spelling lessons
• Guided practice to improve fluency
• Teaching of comprehension strategies
• Vocabulary development which includes grammar, and structured Morphology from Foundation through to Year 6

Mathematics is a priority area for Edithvale Primary School.  Our Mathematics program stresses the development of the individual and relies heavily on the use of structured teaching materials.

All teachers at Edithvale Primary follow the ‘Booker’ Sequence for teaching Maths. This developmental sequence is used for teaching all place value/number skills and four processes: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The purpose is to help students have a strong understanding of number concepts.

Students will be encouraged to set goals and discuss their progress and achievements throughout the year with their peers and teachers.

Essential Assessment is the program teachers use to assess student learning and plan for future lessons. My Numeracy provides students with an online differentiated learning program that takes results from assessments completed in class and enables the students to practice the skills they had difficulty with. Teachers are able to monitor their development and see the growth in their learning

The lesson structure is based on four main teaching areas: Review, Fluency, Discover, sharing, and reflection.

Review – Students review the work completed in previous lessons. Teachers use this time to acknowledge student work and address any misconceptions.

Fluency – Maths fluency is the ability to recall the answers to basic maths questions automatically and without hesitation.

Discover – In the discovery phase, the students are explained explicitly the task they are to complete independently. Students have the opportunity to work in smaller groups with teacher support.

Sharing and reflection – Students have the opportunity to celebrate their learning by sharing and reflecting. All students are encouraged to participate in sharing strategies used and listening to how their peers engaged in their learning.

Students will have many opportunities to take part in hands-on learning activities and open-ended tasks that will aim to challenge and engage them, whilst allowing them to make their own discoveries and share their learning with others.

Mathematics is organised around the interaction of three content strands and four proficiency strands.

The content strands are Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. They describe what is to be taught and learnt.

The proficiency strands are Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, and Reasoning. They describe how content is explored or developed, that is, the thinking and doing of mathematics. This approach has been adopted to ensure students’ proficiency in mathematical skills develops throughout the curriculum and becomes increasingly sophisticated over the levels of schooling.

We aim to ensure that our students:

• are confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics,
• develop an increasingly sophisticated understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency with processes, and can pose and solve problems and reason in Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability
• recognise connections between the areas of mathematics and other disciplines and appreciate mathematics as an accessible and enjoyable discipline to study.

The Mathematics Program is well resourced in the junior and senior schools with concrete materials, games, and equipment.

The Science program provides students with hands-on science experiences where they can construct their own scientific understandings. This term, students will be working within Chemical Sciences to explore different materials and their properties. They will work with a range of materials to create ‘bug hotels’ for different types of mini-beasts in our local environment. Students will implement Science inquiry skills such as; questioning, analysing, planning, conducting, evaluating and communicating.

The Science curriculum aims to ensure that students develop:

• an interest in science as a means of expanding their curiosity and willingness to explore, ask questions about and speculate on the changing world in which they live
• an understanding of the vision that science provides of the nature of living things, of the Earth and its place in the cosmos, and of the physical and chemical processes that explain the behaviour of all material things
• an understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry and the ability to use a range of scientific inquiry methods, including questioning, planning, and conducting experiments and investigations based on ethical principles, collecting and analysing data, evaluating results, and drawing critical, evidence-based conclusions
• an ability to communicate scientific understanding and findings to a range of audiences, to justify ideas based on evidence, and to evaluate and debate scientific arguments and claims
• an ability to solve problems and make informed, evidence-based decisions about current and future applications of science while taking into account ethical and social implications of decisions
• an understanding of historical and cultural contributions to science as well as contemporary science issues and activities and an understanding of the diversity of careers related to science
• a solid foundation of knowledge of the biological, chemical, physical, Earth and space sciences, including being able to select and integrate the scientific knowledge and methods needed to explain and predict phenomena, apply that understanding to new situations and events; and to appreciate the dynamic nature of science knowledge

The Arts program aims to extend our students’ creative and expressive skills by providing activities in the following areas:

 Visual Arts

Learning in Visual Arts involves students making and responding to artworks, drawing on the world as a source of ideas. Students engage with and develop knowledge of visual arts, skills, techniques, and processes, and use materials as they explore a range of forms, styles, and contexts

The students undertake an extensive program that aims to develop

• confidence, curiosity, imagination and enjoyment, and a personal aesthetic through engagement with visual arts making, viewing, discussing, analysing, interpreting, and evaluating
• visual arts techniques, materials, processes and technologies
• respect for and acknowledgment of the diverse roles, innovations, traditions, histories, and cultures of artists, craftspeople, designers, curators, critics, and commentators

Our exciting and engaging technologies curriculum enables students to participate in coding and robotics lessons to become confident and creative developers of digital solutions through specific ways of thinking about problem solving.

The curriculum also encourages students to be discerning decision makers by considering different ways of managing the interactions between digital systems, people, data and processes (information systems) and weighing up the possible benefits and potential risks for society and the environment.

 Robotics

Our school robotics program allows students to work cooperatively with their peers, problem solve and explore technologies through coding, constructing and programming robots. It will be taught to all year levels and is a hands on targeted approach that will build their skills and confidence throughout their time at school. We have invested in a range of exciting and fun resources to provide further challenging and highly motivating learning opportunities for our students.

Our Robotics Scope and Sequence includes:

• Foundation/Grade 1- Bluebots
• Grade 2- Ozobots
• Grade 3- Bloxels
• Grade 4/5- Sphero Bolts
• Grade 6- Lego Mindstorm

These sessions provide a great opportunity to link Robotics to the classroom and help students transfer their skills to other subjects. Students across all year levels love this exciting, hands-on and fun way to learn.

The Physical Education program provides students with opportunities to develop knowledge, understanding and skills for students to lead healthy, safe, and active lives. This term students will participate in a variety of activities and games to further develop their fundamental movement skills such as running, hopping, jumping, skipping, leaping, catching and throwing. Students will use a variety of equipment to develop cooperative behaviour and confidence in a range of exciting and meaningful experiences.

This includes Geography, History, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business. At Edithvale Primary School, our Humanities program places emphasis on the local community and is taught as part of Inquiry Focused Learning.

In Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business, students explore the systems that shape society, with a specific focus on legal and economic systems. Students learn about Australia’s role in global systems and are encouraged to appreciate democratic principles and to contribute as active, informed, and responsible citizens.

In History and Geography, students explore the processes that have shaped and which continue to shape different societies and cultures, to appreciate the common humanity shared across time and distance, and to evaluate the ways in which humans have faced and continue to face different challenges

Within the local context the following areas are given particular attention:

• fostering awareness and concern for the environment
• developing new behaviours related to the well being of the environment
• encouraging active participation in sustainability

Many local excursions to the beach, wetlands, and other local resources form a valuable part of this program.

The Language Other Than English offered at Edithvale Primary is French.  The French program aims to provide students with the opportunity to gain an insight into another culture and its language.  At Edithvale we are fortunate to have an experienced teacher in this area.  Our focus is on interactive learning, meaning that the language is learnt through games, songs and communicative activities.

The wellbeing of our students is really important as we seek to have happy, healthy, and active kids at EPS. This year throughout the school we will have a dedicated Wellbeing time each afternoon with teachers using a variety of resources to support the mental, physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of our students. We employ a range of strategies including circle time and restorative practice discussions in addition to our key programs which include:

• The Resilience Project focusing on gratitude, empathy, mindfulness (G.E.M) and ways to practice these in everyday life with emotional literacy included to promote positive mental health
• Resilience, Rights, and Respectful Relationships to develop social, emotional, and positive relationship skills
• The Zones of Regulation guiding students in becoming more aware of and independent in controlling their impulses, sensory needs and improving their conflict resolution skills.

A student’s wellbeing affects every aspect of their time at school and as such teachers are responsive to the needs and issues affecting their individual classes when deciding on which wellbeing activities to employ each day.